Red

Chapter One

Get the lead out, boys, Red gruffed to the dozen or so men in the garage he owned. We got less than forty-eight hours to deliver these two cars and I still need to go over them to make sure you fucks didn’t miss anything.

Go to hell, Red!

Like we ever miss anything, you motherfucker!

Fuck you.

One guy just flipped him the bird without looking up from under the hood of the car he was working on.

Lazy as you fuckers are, if I let it slide once, you’ll fuck me over the next time and it’s my ass in trouble with Thorn. Red tried not to grin, but it was hard. He worked with good men and loved every one of them like a son. At least, he loved them like he wanted to love his own son. That ship had sailed, though.

I can help if you need me.

The groan came before Red could repress it. No, was all he said.

But --

Said no, girl. Now get on with you.

Her name was Rosanna Creamer, and the image her name presented just… stuck. Because, seriously, he could envision her creaming on his cock for hours and hours. Every day. Forever. She was also so young any thoughts he had about her were probably illegal. If not, they should be. He was forty-eight years old. Rosanna said she was twenty-three, but he had his doubts.

The disappointed look on her face got to him every time. He wanted to call her back and give her a job to do, but if he did, the kid would walk all over him.

Fine. But I’m ten times better than any of those fuckers, she muttered.

No swearing. He said it automatically, like he might scold a naughty child. The second he did, he winced.

Fucking fine, motherfucker, she shot back. There was venom in her voice, but Red didn’t mind. His head whipped around almost of its own accord to watch her stomp away. Because, really, she had an ass to make angels weep. When she hit this level of angry, she always flounced off with that little ass jiggling like his hand might make it jiggle if he’d smacked it. Sure enough… yeah. There she went. And just like that, his cock was at full attention.

Fuck, he muttered, rubbing his hand over his mouth.

And don’t think I don’t know you’re looking at my ass, she shot back over her shoulder. Then, just to torment him, she flashed him a cocky grin and bent over at the waist to pick up a wrench from the garage floor where some dumb fuck had left it.

He turned away from her. Had to. Otherwise, he’d have her bent over the hood of the GTO she was working on. Red’s garage was a legitimate business. They fixed and maintained cars of all kinds, from luxury to ordinary, beat-up Fords. It also fronted a chop shop and sold stolen cars overseas. Rosanna was a huge asset to him in so many ways. The girl could fix anything. She even had an affinity with the newer, high-end cars with sophisticated security systems.

The sound of her giggle snagged Red’s attention. She’d just been flirting with him, but now she was trying to ensnare Julio? What the fuck?

Don’t the two of you have something to be doing beside playing hide the wiener?

Ain’t nothin’ more important than that, Julio muttered.

Nope, Rosanna said at the same time. Hide the wiener is the most important task I have. Though, poor Julio here isn’t allowed. His woman took his man card.

Roars of laughter all over the garage.

Then perhaps he should get away from you so he don’t get fuckin’ castrated. Can’t afford to be a man down now.

She patted Julio on the shoulder. Much as I adore Julio, he’s not the man for me.

He wasn’t rising to the bait. If he did, he’d be hard all fucking day and masturbate all fucking night. He wasn’t going to ask…

Well, just who is the fuckin’ man for you, little girl?

Oh, I imagine he’s someone a little older than Julio. She winked at Red.

Every Goddamned time she said something like that, Red just had to open his big mouth. And every Goddamned time, she was more outrageous.

And, yeah, the guys jumped all over that shit.

Oh, yeah, Red. Girl wants you.

Maybe you can tame the bitch, one guy muttered. Last time I tried, she took a wrench to my head. Damned near knocked me out.

That’s ’cause Rosanna there don’t fuck no pussies.

More laughter.

All right, that’s enough of that shit. Y’all got shit to do. I suggest you get to it or there’s a replacement for every single motherfucker in here.

They still laughed but went back to work. Rosanna, the little witch, gave him a cute little wave over her shoulder and blew him a fucking kiss. The shit of it was, Red couldn’t help but grin.

Brat, he muttered, trying like shit to keep the smile off his face.

I totally am, she fired back. Don’t like it? Spank me. The laughter that had been dying down roared again. Then she went back to her work.

The GTO was a piece of shit, but Red knew she’d have it purring like a kitten before she was done with it. She was the most gifted mechanic he had. On some things, she was even better than him. Like the newer cars with the fobs and all that computer shit he hated. Cars should be about mechanics. Not technology. He was getting too fucking old for this shit.

Red was about to move to a ’71 Torino when he heard another female voice. This one was not nearly as pleasant as the first.

Ian! Are you too dimwitted to even check your phone? I’ve been calling all week!

Red sighed. He was not in the mood for this. He tried to put on his best neutral expression, but he was sure some of his irritation bled through.

Hello to you too, Joy. Been a shade busy. Besides, you know how I hate being tethered to a phone. The tall, voluptuous woman approaching him was a world away from the little pixie he fantasized about. Tall and elegant, Joy had been part of his life for close to thirty years. Though they never married, they’d had a child together. Both mother and son seemed to make it their mission in life to make Red miserable.

I don’t care what you hate, you have an obligation to me. She thrust several crumpled sheets of paper with their envelopes at him. Red was hard pressed not to drop any of them. The result was him looking like he was juggling while trying not to drop anything. You see those? Those are past-due bills. Are you trying to ruin my credit?

Electric. Phone. Three credit cards? Joy, these are not my bills. I told you the last time you brought me your shit I wasn’t paying them anymore. You want stuff? Get out and work for it.

If you’d just pay the alimony and child support --

Stop it right there, he growled. I paid every dime of child support the judge ordered me to, up until Anthony graduated from law school. I could have stopped when he turned twenty-three, but I kept it up so he could get his law degree without having to worry you with money. You and I were never married so there was no alimony to be paid. I consider the extra I’ve given you both over the years more than enough.

You’re just trying to make yourself feel better! They’re going to cut off my electricity, Ian! And I have to have the credit cards to live. Not having a phone is dangerous for a woman living alone. You have to pay these!

That was Joy. She always knew how to pull at his sense of responsibility and protectiveness. He hated her, but she’d been in his life for a very long time. It was hard to just ignore her. So, here he was. Leave her to fend for herself or help her out. Again. Sure, it reinforced bad behavior, but what choice did he really have?

Stomping to the register, Red took out six hundred dollars. It wasn’t the whole amount she needed, but it would pay the phone and electric bills and give her some to pay on her credit cards. She could choose which one she wanted to pay.

There. Don’t come back for more.

She counted it with a frown, then turned her angry gaze to his. This isn’t enough.

It’s all I can spare. You can pick which bills to pay.

I don’t know what I ever saw in you, she snapped. You’re as worthless as the day I met you.

Then why do you keep coming back? Red was done with this. Excuse me, I have fucking work to do. Someone has to make money to keep your ass in designer clothes. You sure as hell don’t.

Red turned his back on her sputtering form. God, he hated that woman! What he ever saw in her was a mystery to him now. She was still stunningly beautiful, but the appeal of all her glamour had faded to nothing over those years of trial he’d put up with her.

Aren’t you going to see me out? she demanded.

Found your way in. I suppose you can find the way out. If he took her outside where no one could see, he’d kill the bitch. His self-restraint only went so far.

I’ve always known you were worthless. You could at least be considerate to a woman.

Before he could respond, one of the guys called out. I’ll walk you out. Just let me get something to wipe my hands on.

Keep your filthy paws to yourself! The last thing I need is for some filthy grease monkey to ruin my outfit.

You sure? another man answered. It sounded like Julio. We were just talking about a new game I came up with. I could teach you how to play.

I can assure you I have no interest in any game the likes of you would play. Her snooty tone grated on Red’s nerves. He just wanted her out of his garage. Out of his fucking life. Unfortunately, Julio just had to continue. Red knew he’d catch hell for not defending her, but, really. She came into this garage knowing exactly what she was walking into. Not his fault when the boys offended her.

It’s called hide the wiener. Teaching an uptight rich bitch like yourself would be the highlight of my fuckin’ day!

The place erupted in laughter. He tried to hide his grin, but had to duck his head before she saw it. Cause, yeah, his face was split wide with it.

Ian?

Not my circus, honey. You don’t like the language, stay outta the fuckin’ monkey house. Only my problem if you’re actually payin’ for a service.

You’ll be the one paying!

Just did. Six hundred dollars’ worth. More laughter.

Is there no way you could have taken me to your office? Do you have to insist all our conversations be in public, or do you just want to humiliate me?

Last time we had a conversation about money in private, you lied and convinced a judge I’d agreed to buy you a car as part of our custody battle. How I’m not sure, but I had a feeling there was sex involved. So, no. None of our conversations get to be in private, and all my security cameras have audio as well as video. As to the humiliation? It’s not my intention to humiliate anyone. But if you are humiliated? It’s just a fucking bonus for me.

Finally, finally, the fucking bitch stormed out. To the catcalls and laughter of the entire garage.

* * *

Rosanna witnessed the byplay between Red and his ex. It was never pleasant. The thing she hated most was the way the woman put Red down. He was so far from worthless and irresponsible it wasn’t even funny. Rosanna wanted to scratch the woman’s eyes out on sheer principle. It made Rosanna insanely jealous that Red had a kid with another woman, even if neither seemed to be in his life. He deserved so much more than what he’d been given.

After such confrontations with his ex, it always took Red several hours to get over the train wreck. She knew today would be worse. The irresponsible and worthless comments had gotten to him. She could tell by the way he’d completely closed down to everyone after Joy had left. Leaving him alone to lick his wounds was always hard, but she had to give him a little time. Then she’d do something outrageous to take his mind off the incident.

She was done with this GTO piece of shit. The owner ought to be shot for letting it fall into such disrepair. It would run like a beast now, but, though the car would appreciate everything she’d done, the owner would just wear it down again. She kept tinkering with it because she had nothing else to do and didn’t want to leave the garage with Red in this state.

Helping the others was out of the question. Not only would they not accept help from anyone, but it would grate on their masculinity to have a girl offer to help. Besides, each man -- or woman -- had his own projects. You did your own work and got paid accordingly.

With another hour to kill, Rosanna just cleaned engine parts, shining up the cosmetics